Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to intelligent telecommunications networks. More particularly, the invention concerns the management of intelligent network services implemented on behalf of subscribers via service programs operating within a network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An intelligent telecommunications network makes call connections between originating and terminating users based on instructions issued by service programs in response to connection queries from switching nodes within the network. The service programs provide connection control information that allows the switching nodes to make appropriate connections that implement the intelligent network services requested by the users. Such services include call waiting, call forwarding, and voice messaging, to name but a few.
To illustrate, assume a network user is a call forwarding service subscriber and that the call forwarding feature has been activated. When a terminating call attempt reaches the network switching node responsible for setting up connections to the user, the switching node issues a query to an appropriate service program. The service program consults a user-specific database and instructs the switching node to direct the incoming call to the forwarding number(s) selected by the user.
With several exceptions, intelligent telecommunications network service providers presently offer only a single intelligent network service per call trigger per subscriber. A subscriber can subscribe to one intelligent network service applicable to terminating triggers (e.g., call forwarding), one intelligent network service applicable to originating triggers (e.g., 900 number screening), and one intelligent network service applicable to any given mid-call trigger (if available). Typically, these intelligent network services are provided by separate service programs operating on separate intelligent network hardware platforms known as service control points (SCPs).
Improved network functionality could be achieved if subscribers were provided the option of invoking more than one of the available intelligent network services per call trigger. For example, a user might wish to implement both voice messaging and call forwarding for a given terminating trigger event, and give callers the choice of leaving voice messages or forwarding their calls to another number. This combination of services would be difficult to provide in a conventional intelligent telecommunications network that uses stand-alone service programs to provide voice messaging and call forwarding services individually. In all likelihood, the services would not function together in the manner expected by the user. Incoming calls would either be recorded and never forwarded, or forwarded and never recorded.
As the foregoing example illustrates, intelligent network services sometimes need to behave differently when interacting with each other than they behave when operating alone. As such, before subscribers can be offered more than one intelligent network service per call trigger, a mechanism is needed to coordinate the various services.
As far as known, there are a small number of intelligent telecommunications networks that offer multiple intelligent network services per call trigger per subscriber, but these networks do not utilize individual service programs. Instead, they take an integrated approach to service provision by combining multiple intelligent network services in an integrated service program package that resides on a single SCP.
Although such integrated service programs are able to provide multi-service functionality, there are several drawbacks to this approach. First, because an integrated service program package is large, the software is relatively difficult to develop, manage and maintain. Second, it is rather cumbersome to upgrade individual services because the entire package must be modified. Finally, it is not possible to incorporate individual service programs (available on the same or different SCPs) into an existing integrated service program package so as to expand the available services. New services can only be added by embellishing the existing integrated service package with new code.
Accordingly, there is a need in an intelligent telecommunications network for a system that allows intelligent network services to be efficiently combined so that more than one intelligent network service can be offered per call trigger per subscriber. This goal should preferably be achieved without having to rewrite the installed network services code base, such that existing service control software may continue to be used. What is required is a system for integrating currently implemented intelligent network service programs so that the intelligent network services they render may be offered to network subscribers in selectable combinations relative to any single call trigger event.
A highly configurable service brokering system for use in an intelligent telecommunications network provides a novel solution to the foregoing problem. The intelligent telecommunications network includes a plurality of switching nodes and one or more service control points containing at least two intelligent network service programs (SPs) responsive to connection query messages from the switching nodes. Each SP provides connection control messages that allow the switching nodes to make connections that implement a selected intelligent network service. The service brokering system of the present invention provides an efficient mechanism for managing the SPs to provide combinations of intelligent network services to network users in association with individual call trigger events.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the service brokering system includes a service combination manager (SCM) that acts as a gateway for incoming connection query messages from the switching nodes. The SCM is configured to manage the invocation of one or more SPs and, as necessary, to format the connection control messages generated thereby into appropriate connection control messages for use by the switching nodes. The SCM returns its connection control messages to the switching nodes, and the switching nodes make connections based on the intelligent network service(s) associated with the SP(s) invoked by the SCM.
In a most preferred embodiment, the invention is implemented in an intelligent telecommunications network that includes a plurality of service switching points (SSPs), each of which acts as a representative for one or more network users, a plurality of service transfer points (STPs), each of which acts as a message routing agent for one or more of the SSPs, and a plurality of service control points (SCPs), each of which acts as a call setup resource on behalf of the one or more of the SSPs. A plurality of interconnections are provided for exchanging messages between the SSPs, the STPs and the SCPs. Each SCP contains at least one intelligent network service program (SP) for providing user-specific connection information to the SSPs based on an intelligent network service subscribed to by one or more network users.
In accordance with the aforesaid most preferred embodiment of the invention, a service combination manager SCP (SCM_SCP) is introduced into the intelligent telecommunications network, either as a new SCP hardware platform, or as an enhancement to an existing SCP. The SCM_SCP is connected to one or more of the STPs and the STPs are programmed to route connection query traffic from the SSPs to the SCM_SCP. The SCM_SCP contains a service combination manager (SCM) that acts as a gateway for receiving the incoming connection query messages generated by the SSPS. Preferably, but not necessarily, a plurality of feature combination managers (FCMs) are provided within the SCM, each of which manages at least two of the SPs by selectively invoking the SPs and, as necessary, formatting the connection control messages generated thereby into multi-service connection control messages. Upon the completion of SP processing, the SCM returns the multi-service control messages to the requesting SSP, and the SSP uses the returned information to make appropriate connections based on the combination of intelligent network services associated with the SPs managed by the FCMs.